SEC’s FY 2016 Budget Request Lauds Whistleblower Program and Predicts Its Growth

In its recent FY 2016 Budget Request, the Securities and Exchange Commission touted the success of its Whistleblower Program and proposed increased funding for the program to help with an increased workload caused by a surge in whistleblower tips. The SEC’s Enforcement Division, in the 2016 Budget Request, revealed that it had received approximately 3,600 tips in FY 2014 through the Whistleblower Program, the largest number of tips ever received by the SEC. The SEC also reported in its request that it had granted the largest number of rewards in its history to whistleblowers in 2014.

Under the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, a whistleblower may receive a reward of between 10 and 30 percent of penalties collected by the SEC if the whistleblower provides information leading to a penalty of $1,000,000 or more. In fact, in September 2014, the SEC announced a reward of more than $30 million to a whistleblower.

The Budget Request praises the effectiveness of the program, stating, “Whistleblowers can often provide high-quality information that allows the Division to more quickly and efficiently detect and investigate alleged violations of the law.” The Request predicts that the surge in rewards, including the September 2014 reward of more than $30 million, will spur more tips and ultimately allow the Enforcement Division to “bring enforcement actions against violators where it would otherwise have not had sufficient information to do so.” The SEC proposes increased funding to hire more staff to handle the increased workload.

The Request demonstrates the success of the Program in protecting investors by ensuring a fair marketplace. It also shows the tangible impact that encouraging whistleblower activity has had in advancing the SEC’s mission. Finally, the Request’s proposal for additional funding, if approved, will allow the SEC’s Whistleblower Program to investigate more tips and prosecute wrongdoing more quickly and efficiently, and to reward more whistleblowers for providing important information to the government.

Tagged: Enforcement Bodies, Fraud Types, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Securities Fraud